The Tenderness of Wolves

1867, Canada - As winter tightens its grip on the isolated settlement of Dove River, a man is brutally murdered and a 17-year old boy disappears. Tracks leaving the dead man's cabin head north towards the forest and the tundra beyond. In the wake of such violence, people are drawn to the township - journalists, Hudson's Bay Company men, trappers, traders - but do they want to solve the crime, or exploit it? One-by-one the assembled searchers set out from Dove River, pursuing the tracks across a desolate landscape home only to wild animals, madmen and fugitives, variously seeking a murderer, a son, two sisters missing for 17 years, a forgotten Native American culture, and a fortune in stolen furs before the snows settle and cover the tracks of the past for good. In an astonishingly assured debut, Stef Penney deftly weaves adventure, suspense, revelation and humour into a panoramic historical romance, an exhilarating thriller, a keen murder mystery and ultimately, with the sheer scope and quality of her storytelling, one of the books of the year.

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Wow--amazing that this is only Stef Penney's first novel! It reads like a tenth! I love how she gives so much depth to so many characters. Great setting in a great era. I was dying to learn who dun it even though I didn't really want it to end. Perfect, perfect novel for the cold weather we've been going through--just sat indoors and lost myself in the story. Wonderfully complex but she took pains to make it easier to pick up the thread of where a particular character or group was headed when a new chapter started. I'll be watching for her future novels.

The author has a vivid imagination and the setting is interesting. There are far too many characters with their own side stories causing the suspense to be entirely lost by the time murderer is confronted. The book ends abruptly leaving all the other side stories dangling. If you do like this book, you might also enjoy the real life biography titled: "Esther: The Remarkable True Story of Esther Wheelwright, Puritan Child, Native Daughter, Mother Superior" by Julie Wheelwright. Also, for a most beautiful depiction of the Canadian woods in winter, read David Adams Richards novel: "The Friends of Meager Fortune".

I was totally captivated with this story. I almost felt that I was the one trudging through the blowing snow looking for my lost son.

I felt that the book did a wonderful job of depicting life in Canada as it truly was in the mid 1800s. There were decent people and there were ruthless people during those times - both white and native. The policies of the Hudson's Bay Company were also examined in an impartial way. There were some truly terrible practices that were used to keep the native people tied to the Company but there was also a certain amount of assistance given.

I was totally captivated with this story. I almost felt that I was the one trudging through the blowing snow looking for my lost son.

I felt that the book did a wonderful job of depicting life in Canada as it truly was in the mid 1800s. There were decent people and there were ruthless people during those times - both white and native. The policies of the Hudson's Bay Company were also examined in an impartial way. There were some truly terrible practices that were used to keep the native people tied to the Company but there was also a certain amount of assistance given.

Summary

An isolated woodsman is brutally murdered in the small town of Dove River in the bleak and snow-ravaged wilderness of Northern Canada in 1867. Suspicion immediately falls upon the neighbor's missing son. But as the investigation deepens, the case takes a bizarre turn and reveals secrets that cannot stay hidden forever.

This book was the Winner of the 2006 Costa Award, in large part due to the author's terrific description of setting.